Spring 2025

A: The duck breast is our most popular item. It’s simple, just a few ingredients and a tomato- ginger jam.We use green tomatoes, and we have them from our garden and figured out we can do something with it. It’s duck, and polenta and chard from the market. The pate they love, it’s a great way to start, and the steamed mussels are a big draw. I make a saf- fron broth and the mussels steam in there and it intensifies and builds the flavor. I think it’s simple, good quality food, with great flavor.You don’t have to go all over the map with fussy food. You can make a nice plate of good food. People say there’s nothing simple about my food, but it is to me. A cream Porcini Blanquette sauce? It’s a simple, great sauce. Q: Who were your mentors and what did they teach you? A: Chef Philippe (Philippe Jeanty). When I moved to Napa Valley to work at Domaine Chandon, that’s where everything made sense and my career took off. Philippe’s food is very much my style: well-made food with great technique and great ingredients. It’s three or four ingredients and let the food speak for itself. His palate was amazing. He could eat something and identify the flavors and tell us how to do it and point to what was missing and what was needed. And that’s also where I met Cal (Stamenov). Philippe brought Cal in as chef de cuisine, and I thought, “This guy knows how to cook.” From day one, he and I were on the same page and, with Cal, I really refined making sauces. He always said I was the best soup maker. “Your soups are amazing, man.” When you look at great chefs, they love flavor and well-executed food. It doesn’t have to be prissy. It’s what you eat every day. Q: So if Cal says you make great soup, you make great soup.Where did you get your soup- making ability? A: My mother. My mother made these pots of soup. We didn’t have a lot of money. She would make a ham and bean,or beef barley,and they were amazing. I learned to never waste an ingredient. If you have ham for dinner, the next day you are boiling it, picking the meat off and making soup with it. Ham and bean soup. She would take leftover pot roast—and I didn’t like her pot roast, it was always dry—but she would take the leftovers and make soup. I also absolutely love braising. We have lamb on the menu, a lamb shoulder, and I love braising it in the oven. It’s that wholesome soul food. For more information and/or reservations, visit www.spottedduckpg.com or call 831/920-2662. 162 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G 2 0 2 5 “THE CAPITOL OF EGGS BENEDICT” Our 42nd Year! Katy’s Place A Carmel Tradition Mission Between 5th and 6th (831)624-0199 www.katysplacecarm el.com Breakfast & Lunch 7:30AM to 1:00PM Tuesdays 7:30AM to 9:30AM Closed on Wednesdays one of the Largest Breakfast Menus on the West Coast ® ® ® S AY YOU S AW T H I S A D I N CA RM E L MAG A Z I N E !